Your Black History: Did you know Memorial Day was started by ex-slaves?

Your Black History: Did you know Memorial Day was started by ex-slaves?

From YourBlackWorld

One of the things that most Black people know is that the public school system does a horrible job teaching Black history. They will gladly tell you all the wonderful things that white people did and maybe even go back to Europe, but the contributions of African Americans are kept entirely on the backburner.

A fact that you should probably know is that African Americans are the reason that Memorial Day even exists in the first place. According to Professor David Blight of Yale University, the event began on May 1, 1865. A group of former slaves in Charleston, SC gave a proper burial to 257 Union soldiers who’d been put into a mass grave.

The Black community of Charleston then consecrated the new cemetery with “an unforgettable parade of 10,000 people.”